SIGAR Afghanistan Reconstruction
APR 30, 2025

Link to download full report:

https://www.sigar.mil/Portals/147/Files/Reports/Quarterly-Reports/2025-04-30qr.pdf

MOST U.S. ASSISTANCE TERMINATED

On January 20, President Trump issued Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating
and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” initiating a 90-day pause in foreign
development assistance for “assessment of programmatic efficiencies and
consistency with United States foreign policy.” All department and agency
heads responsible for foreign assistance programs were required to pause
new obligations and disbursements of assistance funds to foreign countries,
nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget was instructed to work
with department and agency heads to determine whether to continue, modify,
or cease each foreign assistance program.

In implementing the executive order, Secretary of State Marco
Rubio issued a memorandum on January 24 pausing all new State
Department (State) and United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) funding for foreign assistance programs.
Additionally, Secretary Rubio directed all officers administering foreign
assistance grants and contracts to issue stop-work orders to their
implementing partners. USAID leadership reiterated these instructions
in a directive to all agency personnel.

By January 27, multiple USAID implementing partners working in Afghanistan told SIGAR they had
received notices of temporary program suspensions.

Waivers for Life-Saving Emergency Assistance Programs

On January 28, Secretary Rubio issued waivers from the foreign
assistance pause to existing State and USAID programs that provide
life-saving medicine, medical services, food, and subsistence assistance.
State programs funded through its humanitarian Migration and Refugee
Assistance account were also included in the waiver to continue life-saving
care and repatriation of third-country nationals to their country of origin or
a safe third country.

However, despite the waiver, humanitarian operations
did not immediately resume. State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and
Migration (PRM) told SIGAR that its programs remained suspended while
the Office of Management and Budget reviewed them separately.

Review of USAID Programs

Following Secretary of State Rubio’s waiver notice, President Trump
appointed him as Acting USAID Administrator on February 3. Secretary
Rubio then notified Congress that a comprehensive review of USAID’s
foreign assistance was underway, “with an eye towards potential
reorganization,” to ensure its alignment with the State Department and
“an America First agenda.”

Secretary Rubio said the primary aim of the
review was to determine whether each U.S.-funded program made the
United States safer, stronger, and/or more prosperous.